Fated
by miladysarrow
Summary: Sean sees Lana acting weird around him recently and that's not like her. When he's told a big secret, will their friendship survive and overcome the chaos in their hearts and minds? SET IN 2017 - Sean and Lana have no children in their respective previous marriages.


After shooting, Sean agreed to have coffee with Lana. To be honest, he didn't know what to expect because she had always suggested coffee together with all the 'gang'. So, as soon as he arrived, he asked unashamedly "How come just the two of us?"

She looked kind of startled by the question, like she didn't expect him to suspect anything.

"Just a coffee, what's wrong?" she said nonchalantly, almost offended.

"Yeah, what's wrong?" he repeated her question "You've been distant all day long, didn't even look at me between takes"

Lana sighed. She can play perfectly and portray her character splendidly, she actually has a lot of skills but lying to Sean is most certainly not one of them. When it came to him, it was never the same thing as any other person, really.

"Fred gave me the divorce papers this morning" she cut to the chase because what was the point in beating around the bush when she was going to surely weep anyway.

Sean tilted his head in question as if he wanted to know more, some clarification.

"He said they were just legal papers because our marriage ended a long time ago" Lana added "I said it was nothing like that for me, but then, when he mentioned you.." she tried to keep her voice steady and took a deep breath "Ah, I don't know, I just signed and then he left"

"Wait, what?" he was dazed "Why would he mention me?"

She looked up in order to keep the tears at bay "I can't"

When she looked at him in the eyes, pleading, a single tear slipped free, caught immediately by a gentle brush of his thumb "You know you can tell me anything, darling"

His hand rested on hers on the table, with apparently no intention of moving away.

Lana was overwhelmed, to say the least. Sean looked so perfect to her eyes, like no one could replace him, fill in for him in her life. But he was also so not hers. And probably never would be.

She was scared he would judge her for this. But she had to tell him. Clearly, it could not be an attempt to be together because they couldn't. It was just to be truthful to him because he was Tanya's husband and he sure as hell would not become her lover. She was not becoming a homewrecker. That was on the odd occasion he would feel the same.

"I.. Fred said he thought you and I were having an affair, for quite some time"

A wild-eyed Sean looked at her in disbelief "I told him it wasn't like that but then I signed because I realized I do care for you. A lot. And I've been giving you attentions, but I gave him too and I thought it would make up for it, for that thing I felt whenever—" she sobbed. Tears were running freely on her slightly flushed cheeks by now while she opened herself completely to him. He was now running his other hand up and down her back "It's alright, love, go on"

She used his sentence as a mean to prove her point "Whenever you call me love or darling, whenever you just know when I need you so you hug me and hold me and, God knows, I wish those moments could last forever" she got up from the booth "I know us can't happen, but I realized I love you and can't do anything about it" her voice broke and her emotional state was one nobody ever wants to be in.

"You know I love you too"

She scoffed "That's not what I was talking about, were you even listening?" she started to walk away from their spot.

"Lana—" he got up and took her hand again.

Oh, and how soothing such a simple touch and soft mentioning of her name was for her, but she couldn't melt. He was being a total dick playing ignorant, right now, when she was opening her heart and soul to him.

She withdrew from his grasp abruptly "Don't"

And with that said, she left.

.::.

They never set boundaries, never made clear they had to be just good friends but with both parties being married, meaning other people involved, that was pretty much obvious.

The attraction to one another was self-evident, though. And now that Lana was both single and ignoring him, Sean felt her absence, so much his heart ached.

He also realized it never happened with Tanya but he decided to pay it no mind. Too wrapped up in his own thoughts about Lana to involve another woman.

Every time he saw her joking on set with Josh, Bex and Colin he wanted to kneel down and ask her to forgive him. She was also his best friend and he missed her.

.::.

"This must be a set up"

They were late-night filming when Lana and Sean found themselves locked in one of the make-up trailers.

She looked angry, but he knew she deep down wasn't; she was just hurt, and he was responsible for that, so he had to fix it.

"Lana, I'm so sorry, I acted like a total jerk the other day" she rolled her eyes because that was an understatement.

"You opened your heart to me and I tossed it away. And I hurt you in the process, which you most certainly don't deserve. God, how much I hate myself for that"

"Sean—"

"No, wait—"

"What? Are you going to tell me you love me again? I think I'll pass, I've heard enough these couple of days"

"Did— did you tell someone? About our.."

Talk? Meeting? Fight? He doesn't know how to name it so he just leaves it there for Lana to understand.

"No, of course not! But can you blame me for not being my usual self? And people did ask about why I was in that state but I couldn't even give a proper answer" her arms were crossed around her front, frown still in place on her face. No sign of tears, perhaps that was good.

"Believe it or not, I've been equally miserable lately. Tanya noticed and I could hardly look at her for what I did to you. To be honest, I realized I don't care about her as much as I care about you"

There was silence on both parts after that but their eyes were speaking to each other's.

"Is that so? And what do you want me to say? How do I know it's not just pity from you?"

And that was just his cue to drop the bomb he set this private minute with her to.

"Would pity push me to get a divorce?"

Her eyes divert from the window to those blue ocean irises, now closer to her. Tears were welling up in her eyes now. "Sean.."

"Yes?"

"We can't"

"I beg to differ, love, I do think we are free to do this now" his gaze shifted continously from her eyes to her lips. His hands went to cradle her cheeks, thumbs rubbing the apple of them repeatedly and so, so gently. Sean was leaning down and in ever so slowly but, despite how sweet it was, the tension was a bit much at that point Lana just had to lean up onto her toes and kiss the hell out of him, just like it was scripted for their characters to do some years ago. It was meant to be soft, it was their first after all, but the minute his tongue licked at her lower lip, she granted him access gladly, tongues dancing, intertwining. Her hands moved from sweetly caressing his neck to gripping at his (Robin's, really) sweater to keep him right there, even if he was most surely not going anywhere. His own hands were already roaming over her sides under her coat, eventually resting on her lower back, just shy of her ass.

It was so perfect it felt like they were bound to kiss for all eternity, that they were really meant for one another, soulmates.

"Gods, I love you so much" he managed to utter when they parted.

Her death stare, even if accompanied by a smirk, made him rephrase "Pardon me, I am in love with you"

"I am in love with you too, even if you are a total jerk" she said smiling, picking up on his own previous words.

His eyes were wandering all over her face and figure, as if for the first time, almost not believing what had just happened. Her auburn hair, her hazel eyes, her chapped lips, red from their recent kiss "You truly are stunning"

She was clearly blushing but teased him anyway "Stop stealing your character's lines"

They both chuckled and were basking in their little temporary bubble of happiness when there was a knock on the trailer door "You guys made up? We gotta shoot"

"Made up and made out, Josh!" Lana slapped Sean's chest playfully from where they were sitting on the sofa, curled up in each other.

"Coming, JD!" she shouted before stealing another peck from his still-smiling lips.

"I'll bring your shoes" he informed her, getting up and examining them at the same time "They're quite the pair" he looked at her now, dazed but amused.

"Yeah, just ordinary Madame Mayor" she got up too and circled his waist with her arm.

"Good thing I'll be there to massage your feet afterwards"

"What a lucky woman" she pecked his lips again.

They left the trailer hand in hand, smiling like fools at each other from time to time. They've got stuff to figure out, things to sort out, but as long as they were together, they were sure they were going to get through it all. They loved each other and love always wins.

—2 Years Later—

"Lana, I'm leaving!" Sean yelled, turning towards the stairs, where their room and his girlfriend were.

"Wait!"

Within seconds, she got downstairs to him "Do you really think I'd let you go shoot with Mädchen Amick without properly kissing you goodbye?"

And so she did. She kissed the hell out of him, almost like she never did before.

"You alright, darling? You know I'm not into he—"

"I'm fine" as her bright smile lit up the dark room, she brought her forehead to his "Have a nice day at work, babe"

"Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

"No, Bex is on her way"

"Good luck with your wicked shopping"

She chuckled at the remark and he took advantage of that to peck her lips and make a beeline for the door.

.::.

Lana was feeling very giddy all afternoon. She was going to surprise her marvelous boyfriend with a special gift: an onesie and a pair of newborn shoes.

"Ready?" Rebecca pulled up in front of her house.

"Yeah, kind of"

"I still can't believe I'm going to become Auntie Bex"

"I'm anxious"

"Come on, Sean's going to love it"

"Yeah" she caressed her womb absentmindedly.

A couple of minutes of silence pushed Bex to talk "Well, good luck Sis"

The two best friends hugged tightly before the brunette left the cockpit and entered an empty home. There was a post-it note on the fridge.

'I'm with Colin right now, but I'll be home in time to take you to dinner. See you at 7, love. —S'

She beamed at the well-known handwriting before glancing at the clock. 6.20 pm. She better get ready.

Little did she know, Sean was going to surprise her as well with his own special gift: an engagement ring.

.::.

Sean has been showering her with compliments since the moment he saw her going down the stairs. It was a quality of his, being able to make you feel comfortable in your own skin only with his flattery; and that's why he was it for her, he was one of a kind and you just don't let a man like him pass by.

Lana was a walking blush, she felt like a smitten teenager on her first date. Her short silky asymmetrical black dress made a large contribution to that. It was bound to be a perfect evening: her boyfriend, a night out after so long and an announcement to make. Precisely for the latter, she brought and hid the bag in the car while he was finishing getting ready.

Sean was wearing one of his best suits with a dark forest tie "I must say, you clean up well too, Locksley"

.::.

After dinner at a fancy restaurant, a complain for spending too much money and a reminder that it was a special night, Lana talked "So what's next?"

"A surprise"

"Seriously? Am I dressed appropriately for it? Your last surprise was a hike to see the stars. Romantic, but a hike"

"Just trust me"

"You know I do"

The two lovebirds stared dumbly at each other, then Sean drove for about a couple more minutes before announcing they arrived at their destination.

"We're in the middle of the woods, I knew it"

"And I kind of hoped you wouldn't remember this place right away"

Lana looked at him befuddled and was about to follow him out of the car when he stopped her, claiming that he had to fix something up first.

"Alright"

After a few minutes she spotted flames through the trees, in the direction where her boyfriend went. She rushed to him and memories flooded back into her mind: the bonfire, that exact place in the woods.

"Sean.." she felt tears stinging her eyes already and threatening to fall.

"This is where we shot our very first kiss on that blessed show. And a blessing is what it all was for me, every time I think about our journey I can't help but feel like fate, God, or whatever higher power, brought us together. After everything we've gone through, we didn't give up on us, so it's safe to say that, beyond fate, this was a choice of not wasting what we were already meant for and I swear I haven't made a better decision in my life. Choosing to share my life with a charming, smart, fearless, passionate, inspiring, dedicated to her job and absolutely breathtaking woman. I really don't see what I did to deserve you.

Lana, you've widely improved my existence on Earth just by being your usual outstanding self, you've brought real love into my life that I felt like I had never experienced before; living with you undoubtedly made me a better man with your wise advice always ready for me to follow and your joyful being that keeps every day a good one.

You're probably still wondering why we are here tonight. Well, I want a future with you, I want this happy life we're currently living to be neverending because, at this point, I don't know what I'd do without you. Future means marriage, family, children and I want all of that with you, I want to fully commit to that, if you're also willing, and start the second part of our life that will hopefully be as fulfilling as the first part we're living.

Now I should probably ask before morning" he chuckled lightly and she followed, even amongst tears. Sean unceremoniously got down on one knee and asked away "Lana Maria Parrilla, will you do me the honor of marrying me and become my wife?"

Her mouth opened and she was about to answer right away but then she reconsidered "Wait here"

She had him a bit confused, even more when she got back with a pure white bag.

He frowned and got up on both his legs "What's this?" he asked, closing the little box and storing it in his jacket pocket.

"My surprise to you"

Sean opened the bag in record time, finding two different boxes inside. When he opened each of them, one of his hand instinctively went to grasp hers, so that he could pull her and hold her in his arms "I love you so, so much Lana, you have no idea"

"I love you too" fresh tears were wetting both parents' cheeks by now "You don't mind mixing the order of 'future' up?"

"I am the happiest man on Earth, are you happy?"

"Yeah, I am" she was beaming when she remembered what was happening just before "You still have to put that ring on my finger, though" she giggled.

"Well, you didn't properly answer, darling" he joked, took the simple diamond out of his pocket again and slid it on the proper finger on her left hand, still partly wrapped around his.

"By the way, I can't wait to start a new family with you too"

.::.

Sean and Lana got married as soon as they could and shortly after they discovered they would have a little boy in a little over four months. They lived happily but it was not ever after, they had their difficulties and learnt how to overcome them together as the new family they were.


End file.
